Drink too much coffee? Jawbone’s new iOS app will tell you when to stop

Coffee always gives me quite a jolt. It’s fantastic when I’m feeling a little lethargic, but the effects often linger even after I’ve turned in for the night, keeping me awake or disturbing what should be a good night’s rest.

How do I know when to curb my caffeine addiction? That’s where UP Coffee, a new iOS app from Jawbone comes in.

How it works

To begin with, the app will ask for some information about your body and caffeine sensitivity. Gender, height and weight – it’s the standard set of metrics – although you’ll also need to punch in how strongly caffeine affects your body and when you aim to fall asleep each night.

Hit save and you’ll be given a small bottle (above, right) to work with. As you drink more coffee the container fills up, but over time it slowly depletes – just as your internal caffeine levels do naturally throughout the day.

By tapping the ‘plus’ icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen, you can record whenever you drink a fresh macchiato, cappuccino or cup of green tea. Approximated amounts are listed on the right-hand side and it also gives you the option to specify single and double shots. If you’re a fans of Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, you’ll be pleased to know that their respective menus are also listed here, offering an accurate recording of their particular brews.

Every time a new drink is submitted, a corresponding number of coffee-colored balls drop into the bottle. You can then check whether your sleep will be affected that night, review individual recordings and see exactly how long it’ll take for it to leave your system.

(There’s also the option to sign-in with an UP account, although given I don’t own any Jawbone products I wasn’t able to check this out.)

Wrap-up

As with many health and fitness-related apps, Up Coffee only works if you’re diligent enough to record every cup of coffee. Submitting a new drink can often feel like a chore – especially if you’re chatting in Starbucks with a group of friends – but you’ll need to use the app consistently to get a clear picture.

Regardless, UP Coffee is easy to use and visualizes your caffeine intake in a simple, easily digestible manner. Just keep the colored dots in the beaker below the ‘Wired’ line – that’s pretty much all there is to it.

Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and video games in particular. You can reach him on Twitter, circle him on Google+ and connect with him on LinkedIn.